Jeremy Corbyn sacks Labour peer for attending Presidents Club dinner

‘Lord Mendelsohn did not witness any of the appalling incidents described in reports’

The Labour party’s spokesman on international trade in the Lords has been asked to “step back from the front bench” for his attendance at the all-male charity gala where hostesses were reportedly groped and sexually harassed.

Lord Mendelsohn, a Labour Life peer who has sat in the House of Lords since September 2013, confirmed he was present at the dinner at the Dorchester Hotel last week.

A Labour Lords spokesman has also confirmed that “Jeremy Corbyn has this evening asked Lord Mendelsohn to step back from the front bench as he attended the Presidents Club dinner, and he has agreed to do so.

“Lord Mendelsohn has previously made clear that he attended part of the dinner as president of a charity that received support from the event and he had no knowledge of an after-party.

“Lord Mendelsohn did not witness any of the appalling incidents described in reports and has unreservedly condemned such behaviour.”

There has been widespread outrage following claims about the event when an undercover FT reporter exposed how female ‘hostesses’ were groped and sexually harassed at the fundraiser in Mayfair last week. Scandal-hit Presidents Club has also announced that it is to close following these allegations.